A third wave of the coronavirus is "inevitable", the Indian government's top scientific adviser warned on Wednesday as possibilities of a nationwide lockdown were discussed to break the chain of Covid surge in India.

"Phase 3 (third wave) is inevitable, given the high levels at which this virus is circulating. But it is not clear at what time scale this Phase 3 will occur," Dr K Vijay Raghavan was quoted as saying in media reports at a government briefing.

On being asked if a nationwide lockdown was the only solution to contain the unprecedented rise in cases, NITI Aayog member VK Paul said, "...If anything more is required those options are always being discussed. There's already a guideline to states to impose restrictions to suppress chain of transmission, " IBNS reported. 

Reeling under the impact of the second wave, India accounted for nearly half the cases reported worldwide last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

The country registered 382,315 new COVID-19 cases between Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, as per Ministry of Health released data.

During the same period, 3,780 people died due to the virus.

The death toll due to the virus now stands at 226188.

The situation is even grimmer as hospitals are struggling to provide beds and oxygen to those battling the deadly infection, while morgues and crematoriums are facing challenges to deal with a seemingly unstoppable flow of bodies.